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Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Review: The Last Good Day of the Year by Jessica Warman

The Last Good Day of the Year

By Jessica Warman

Blurb: A new powerful thriller from the globally-embraced author of Between.

Ten
years ago, in the early hours of New Year’s Day, seven-year-old
Samantha and her next door neighbor, Remy, watched as a man broke into
Sam’s home and took her younger sister, Turtle, from her sleeping bag.
Remy and Sam, too afraid to intervene at the time, later identified the
man as Sam’s sister Gretchen’s much older ex-boyfriend, Steven, who was
sent to prison for Turtle’s murder.

Now, Sam’s shattered family
is returning to her childhood home in an effort to heal. As long-buried
memories begin to surface, Sam wonders if she and Remy accurately
registered everything they saw. The more they re-examine the events of
that fateful night, the more questions they discover about what really
happened to Turtle.

Wow.
This is by far, one of the most realistic, emotional 'thrillers' I've
ever read. It's much more just simply a tragic story then an actual
thriller, though the mystery is definitely intriguing. This is all over
just simply a good book.

This tells the story of the aftermath of
a child abduction. Not the immediate aftermath, but the long-term, ten
years ago aftermath, which really isn't focused on as much in many books
dealing with the topic (in my opinion). Sam's sister Turtle was stolen
on New Year's, never to be found. This is the story of how the family
learns to cope, just as much as figuring out what really happened that night.

And
let me tell you, it's emotional. My throat was so sore after reading
this because I had such a big lump in it nearly the whole time. I'm
actually kind of tearing up just thinking about it, because I could not
imagine this happening to one of my siblings. I would just die. It's
really realistically portrayed, which means it is sometimes difficult to
read.

This family is definitely still grieving, though there are
times when it is not as apparent. What's worse, Sam is beginning to
question what happened that night, and the answers she's getting aren't
what she would want. This mystery was So. Good. I was on the edge of my
seat; the empathy I felt for these characters only amplified my desire
to figure out what actually happened. It's wild, guys. I did not see it
coming at all. There were about five trillion plot twists near the end,
and my eyes just got wider and wider with each one.

My favorite
part of the book was the discussion between Sam and Noah about their
sisters. It's so shocking and not what you ever really would expect when
reading about abduction, but that's what I love about it. It's so raw
and authentic.

Let me tell you, this ending is just...I love it,
but it's so freaking CRUEL, because it begs for a sequel that I'm not
sure is coming. I have a feeling this book will just be one of those
horrifyingly awful yet wonderful cliffhangers, torturing me with its
desire to get resolved. Seriously. A bomb got dropped on me and then the
book literally ended. Not one more sentence. Not one more word. I was so pissed.

This
book was great. It blended emotion with mystery perfectly to make this
beautiful book, one where I have never nor probably will ever read
something like it.